Stepping into the forest of my mind

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

I need to
show my hard-won epiphanies through self-reflection. I need to present my memoir in ways to allow
readers to enter upon the college journey.
I went to college as a mother of five, but that journey needs to be more
than just a collection of experiences at college and at home with my family as
I struggled to keep up with my studies, struggled to comprehend new subject
material, struggled to discover a new Victoria Marie.

I must explore the inner self, reflect
upon it, so that my reader can identify with me. This sounds like the inner dialogue, which I’m
incorporating into my memoir manuscript. But through inner dialogue, the memoirist needs
to discover something about herself, through reliving the experiences, the
struggles.

In the throes of my second
revision of the college memoir, I discover courage. It took courage to attend each class. Courage to believe in myself though surrounded
with doubts and inadequacy, embarrassment.
Courage to face my fear of failure.
Courage to face the fear of success, for in success comes
opportunity. Opportunity changes
lives.

I would never
be the same after my adventures through college. And neither would my family. It took a whole family to get this mother through
college.

I need to craft these discoveries
into well-stated epiphanies/themes and then be sure that they resonate
throughout the memoir. Through specific
details, the memoirist can achieve universality.

There’s my
timer again. My home smells of cinnamon
and honey. Time to take the Amish
friendship breads out of the oven. Time
to share the smells of Christmas with family, neighbors and friends. May your Christmas be filled with the
treasure of family and friends and may you all achieve success in 2015. Thanks for stopping by Adventures in Writing.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Remember, memoir is not
autobiography. Memoir recounts an
important time in the writer’s life, an important journey, happy or sad,
triumphant or not, where a discovery is made.
This journey is merely a slice, not the whole life pie. But within that slice, as in fiction,
internal dialogue is important.

Discovering the possibilities

Internal
dialogue is a dialogue the writer/character has with herself. This dialogue in memoir usually projects present
day thoughts or logic or knowledge onto prior actions of the writer/character. It’s like an interpretation of the preceding action,
scene, or anecdote.

Like fiction,
memoir cannot be merely a collection of scenes, dialogues, or actions. Some scenes and actions are used to move the
plot forward, to create tension, or to enhance characterization. Other scenes need to be interpreted by the
writer through internal dialogue.

Interpretation
in memoir explains why a particular action is so important in the writer’s
journey. The writer attempts to revisit
that part of her life again, through memoir, and discovers newfound knowledge to share with
the reader.

As I move ahead in my
revision work of the college memoir, I’m probing beyond my literal college
experience to discover the epiphanies that I was too busy to see at the time
with the daily grind of college and family life. My husband and children find my scribbled
thoughts on torn pieces of paper left on tables and counters, bookshelves and
bathroom vanities. I tell them to throw
away nothing they find and put it on my desk on the porch. When I get time, I type them into the
prologue document to my memoir and sort them from there. [This cuts down on the fire hazard in our
home.]

Memoir needs to be more than
autobiographical. It needs to provide
insight not merely the facts of the experience.
Memoir is a writer’s story about a specific time in his or her life with
the writer’s present day reflections on that time.

Oh…the timer’s beeping and I need
to get the apple pie out of the oven. I hope
you all have a blessed Thanksgiving. Thanks
for stopping by.

A Subtle
Grace is alive with drama. The obstacles are many; the characters,
lively. The devil lives in the
historical world of the O'Donovan family.
The writer knows her genre. This
Catholic Fiction novel demonstrates the power of love and faith to forgive and
protect. You won't be disappointed.

Thank
you, Ellen, for visiting with me.

Ellen: My pleasure.

VML: Ellen, what
made you decide to become a writer and how long have you been writing?

Ellen: Many years ago, I
began writing in a journal to ease the grieving process after suffering several
miscarriages. These journal entries actually served as the basis for my first
published article, “Five Little Souls in Heaven,” which was published in the Nazareth Journal in 1995.
From there, other articles
were published in various Catholic magazines. Around 14 years ago, after
researching about my family tree and finding out some unusual aspects about my
great-grandmother, my husband suggested that I write a novel based on the
parallel true stories of myself and my great-grandmother. I learned how
to write a novel in that (four year) period of time. When I finished that
book, I knew that I wanted to write more novels.

VML: And write them, you
did. It’s amazing that your books have
been downloaded over 500,000 times on Kindle since 2010.

Ellen, why did you choose Catholic
fiction as your genre?

Ellen: First, I’m
Catholic. Fifteen years ago, there were very few Catholic novels. As a
novelist, I wanted to write in a genre that I could relate to, that was inspiring
and was less competitive than other genres. Most Christian novels are
generically Christian; the characters sometimes pray and often seem “too good.”
I wanted to write complicated stories and create believable characters with
depth from a Catholic point of view.

VML: Fully developed
characters are needed for readers to become involved in stories. And of course, it isn’t a story without
conflict. Ellen, some writers begin with a
situation, some with characters. As a writer of historical Catholic
Fiction, how do you begin writing a novel?

Ellen: I usually start
with a situation. I outline the basic story and a few simple ideas for
characters. This often takes months, even years, given my other duties and
responsibilities. Once I have the basic outline complete, I then spend
several months researching. This is one of my favorite parts of the
process and fairly easy, given modern access to the internet. Next step is to
write character studies, and then begin writing the first draft.

VML:
Ah! I’m not a pantster either,
except for my YA short stories. I
believe in the outline for longer work.
What some writers forget is that an outline is just a way of keeping you
writing. Outlines are merely guidelines
and are apt to change slightly as the storyline grows and moves forward. Now character studies are a great idea. I learned about those in one of my earlier
writing courses.

The process of writing and
re-writing can be a tedious one--especially for full-length novels. How
do you know when your novel is ready for the presses?

Ellen: It’s hard to
explain. With my own novels, I get to a point where I need to move on to
the next project. Once I’ve finished my first presentable draft, I then
work with a developmental editor (who assists with plot and characters, as well
as sentence structure), then I work with two copy-editors. The “tedious”
edits are definitely not my favorite part of the process, but they’re very
important because each time a manuscript goes through an editing process, it
becomes more polished and helps the story and characters shine more
brightly. Four to six proofreaders then read through for typos and other
errors missed by myself or the editors.

VML:
Lucky you to have such a writing support
staff. Writing is not the solitary
profession it was once thought to be.
And even then, writers discussed details with other writers. Always great advice to have others read the
manuscript when you’re finished to see if what the writer thinks is on the
page, in fact is.

Do you have any advice to offer
writers on how to stay committed to a longer writing project?

Ellen: Perseverance and patience!!
These are two virtues that are absolutely essential to the modern
writer.

VML:
The two “p’s” of writing. I’ll
always be a writer, but the patience needed to hear back on my manuscripts is
the difficult part for me.

How about
you, fellow readers? Which is more
difficult for you, in whatever you do; perseverance or patience?

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Photographs are necessary especially on holidays when life becomes a blur.

Did you ever wish there could be two of you? When I was attending college for ten of my
children’s growing up years, I wished I could have been a traditional college
student. Then another part of me wanted
to be that full-time mother of five children.

Obviously, I couldn’t become
two separate people. So I needed to do
the second best thing and perform both tasks as one person.

Many people, especially
women, wish they could be more than just one person in order to do all the
things and tasks that they feel need to be accomplished in life.

There’s the key.

People “feel”
that these tasks need to be accomplished.
Most certainly we have time-sensitive tasks that truly need to be
accomplished. Business and school
projects have firm dates. Novelists,
book publishers have deadlines; essayists, content writers, and short story
writers have deadlines. The list is
endless.

In the
beginning of my college career, I truly needed to return home before my
children. There was no one else to watch
five children—let alone feed them. I don’t
know about you, but my angels came home starving after school. You’d think they never ate breakfast or
lunch. I couldn’t attend activity meetings
or study groups or join events during that time. I needed to be a mother.

Other
deadlines can be made malleable.

Prioritizing
became a way of life. I tried to disrupt
my children’s schedules, in the beginning of my college journey, as little as
possible. This was especially important
for my oldest daughter who is special needs.
Re-teaching her always rested on my shoulders. She was in eighth grade at that time; the
twins, in second grade.

The two H’s were at the
top of the list: health and homework,
there’s and mine. Still, by Christmas
break, I had the flu…each of the ten years attending college. The children were fine. It was just I, the college student/Mom who
wanted to crawl into my room and let Christmas happen on its own. But it doesn’t work that way in families with
young children. Many times, it falls to
the mother to make holidays happen. Yes,
I cut down on the baking. Yes, I tried
to delegate, but there was only my husband, at the time, to delegate to. Hence, some things got accomplished; others
did not.

Attending college when
you have a family, sometimes things need to change. They did for me; however, I made these
transitions slowly, both for the children and for me. Understanding which tasks truly need to be
accomplished now and which can wait, prioritizing your work load. These are some mindsets to help a parent get
through college. How have you mastered
the times in your life when you wished you were more than one person?

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Five
children, one husband, a home, work inside and out of the home. I thought it was difficult when the children
were smaller. I’m learning that older
children require just as much time.

Then
there are the extended family obligations, like downsizing my mother-in-law’s
90 years’ worth of possessions so that she will be able to go to an assisted
living apartment.

I
realize I’m not alone in having other obligations when trying to find time to
write. Most writers have a host of other
obligations, too. Here are some methods
I’ve come up with to tuck a bit of writing into my harried life.

Keep a notebook handy for ideas
and reminders while you go through life’s busywork. You can use
electronic devices here. Then when you're finally able to get to your
computer to work, you have a better chance to be productive.

I tend
to carry a notebook and pen everywhere I go.
I do this even on family vacations.
If I’m not documenting family adventures, I’m taking notes for writing
projects.

Write
during lunchtime breaks instead of socializing.
This is tough, I know. Humans
are social creatures. The same holds
true if you can convince your spouse to take the family to a party and allow
you time to write. Although with five
children, I’m usually the one organizing the blasted event.

Write before the family awakens in the
morning, or if you’re a night owl, write after the house is quiet. I’m the morning bird here.

When
all else fails, see if you can find a half hour to hide out…ahem…I mean work in
the local library. This is helpful if
you’re the type of writer who tries to work from home where those children and
husband live and the busywork surrounds you, calling you by name.

At
times it may seem that the family bond, or your job, is more pressing than
the call to write. Life is not a dress
rehearsal. We go through it only once. Not everyone can live as long as
my mother-in-law and celebrate her 90th birthday. I need to remind myself of this often.

Still,
I try to write whenever I can, and if you want to also, try some of these ideas.

If you
have other ideas on how to fit writing into an already busy life, please share
them with me. Thanks! Good luck with your writing projects.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Now back to my memoir about going
to college as a mother of five. I find
that if I try to fix all the
suggestions that my critique readers make about my writing, I just sit there
and stare at my work. Oh sometimes, I’ll
get up to file a nail or put on the kettle for a fresh pot of tea. Then I’ll notice that the stove is
dirty. Those five children sometimes
bring hungry friends over. I’ll see
another finger nail that needs grooming; I’ve got to choose a loose tea for the
pot, choose a teacup…

You get the idea. Does this ever happen to you when you’re
revising?

So I’ve come to the conclusion that the best
thing for me to do when revising, or even writing a new short story, is to hide
in the local library for as long as possible—or until I’m found out by my
children or husband as they call my cell phone relentlessly.

Okay, so that keeps me sitting at
my laptop, staring at the words. Now to
move forward.

I’ve found it easier to revise in
stages. I tend to work on the simpler
fixes first. You know; further
explanations, clarifications, and, in my memoir especially, deeper thoughts. It gets me into the story of the memoir and
crawling ever so slightly forward.

I’m talking about the critique
suggestions that I agree with or those that make sense for the writing or story
at hand, the themes that I’m trying to connect in the writing. Like I said in my previous post Writing is not a Cookie-Cutter Science, you
only want to address the suggestions that matter to your voice, your writing.

I’m the type of writer who saves
the different versions of my chapters or stories. I’m working on my FIRST revision of the
memoir with the simpler fixes. I tell
myself that in the next revision, I’ll work on the complications of time frame
in a particular chapter, to re-evaluate chronological order in Chapter 9, for
example. Then in another revision, possibly
divide a few longer chapters into shorter, tightly-woven chapters.

Revising in stages can help a
writer move forward on a longer project.
Saving the various revisions can help a writer move back to a prior version of
the writing if she decides that the story can no longer move forward without a
deleted section or details. How about
you? Do you keep various versions of
your writing when working on a project?
Please offer any suggestions you might have. Thanks!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

That’s the catch, isn’t it? Attending college while your children are
growing up. College study, and all it
entails, is not easy—even without children.
But once you add family obligations into the mix, it can become
downright difficult. The answer? Discover methods to study on the go, include
the children into class projects when you can, and use your resources on
campus.

Course work requires time.
Try toting books to work to read assignments at lunch or to the
children’s games to read sections between active play. Tape study notes and listen to them while
performing household chores or watching soccer matches and swim meets. Use earphones whenever you leave the
house.

Some college students and mothers
get up an hour earlier to work on projects or clock out at work and remain
there to do class work in an empty conference room or office away from the
distractions of home. And sometimes, you
simply need to accomplish class work on the weekends.

Understanding course material is crucial. Don’t be afraid to ask questions during class
or afterwards. I, for one, peppered my
professors with questions to obtain a better understanding of the
material. Networking with fellow
classmates can aid in understanding too.
Form study groups; get together when you can to work on projects
together.

Most colleges offer free tutors
for numerous courses. Check the hours
for the Tutoring Center on campus. Many
universities have writing centers where students can obtain critiques of their
academic papers.

Starting college or completing a
degree for a non-traditional student, usually a student over 30, is a
challenge. But it can be accomplished. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what my memoir
is about.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

While I understand that some
scholarships and/or grants may require you to apply to a college first, now is
the time to seek out a particular college and apply.Most colleges have websites with a link from
their homepage to an application form. Please note that some colleges have
application fees that need to be submitted before your application will be
considered for acceptance.

Community colleges, or junior
colleges as they are sometimes called, allow potential students to attend 3 or
4 non-pre-requisite courses [about 12 credits] before needing to take the free
Placement Test.A non-pre-requisite
course is like Art Appreciation or Psychology.It’s a course that requires no math or science.

Without S.A.T. scores [Scholastic
Assessment Tests], the Placement Test is necessary to be sure potential
students have the background knowledge to handle college level courses.This test is made up of three parts:reading/comprehension, writing, and math.The Placement Test is free—the first time you
take it. However, you may take it a
second time, or a third, but there is a fee each time.This is a pass/fail test.You only take it again if you feel you can do
better and pass a particular section.Basic skills courses are offered at all colleges to assist potential
students in achieving college level math and writing.Yes, you need to pay for these basic skills
courses, too.You may transfer in to
college with prior course credit in math or science courses from another
college and not need to take the Placement Test.

Once you are admitted to a
college, or even before, you should consider a major, a course of study.Students may begin attending college without
being matriculated, which means being enrolled in a particular course of study.

You can register for classes
online. The courses listed on the web
inform potential students if a requirement [another course] is necessary before
taking that particular course.

Some colleges offer both Saturday
and Sunday classes from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in addition to weekday early morning
[starting at 7 a.m.] and evening courses.Of course, online courses abound at colleges.Summer courses available at colleges are usually
fifteen week courses compressed into about five to eight weeks, meeting
approximately four times per week, day or evening.Compressed weekend courses can be found as
well.There are non-compressed summer
courses, too, usually about 12 weeks. I’ve
attended both the compressed and the non-compressed versions of summer courses
in my ten-year college journey.

So
stick a pencil into the college pool of non-pre-requisite courses first if
you’d like, and then get matriculated into a course of study and begin your own
college journey to a bachelor’s degree.You’ll be glad you did.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Attending college is expensive.Money was another reason I attended a
community college.Seven people.One paycheck.Community colleges are less expensive than four-year institutions.But as I continued in my college journey, I
discovered that I could receive money to help pay for college. I became determined not to pay for the next
leg of my college journey.

It’s helpful to see if you
qualify for any scholarships being offered.For non-traditional students [usually students over 30 years of age] the
task can seem daunting.

If you work outside the home,
check with Human Resources to see if your company offers tuition reimbursement
for college courses or for an undergrad degree.Notice this is usually reimbursement.You may need to lay out the money first and then show your passing
grades to be reimbursed after the semester.

Outside of any scholarships or
reimbursement offered at your personal work, I would try the Financial Aid
Office of the educational institution you wish to attend.

If you were in the United States military
or fought in one of the conflicts, under the G.I. bill
the military may pay for your college education.

These three places are always
best to try first as the competition will be far less than blanket scholarships
found on the web.Always try local
first.There are groups and professions
that offer smaller scholarships for attending college, but you need to check
the age requirements.Also, many scholarships
are financial needs based.

All financial aid requests
require that you complete a FAFSA form and file it. FAFSA
is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Another good thing to know is the difference between a grant and a student
loan.Grants are financial aid usually
based on financial need.They do not
need to be repaid unless you withdraw from school.Then you may owe a refund. Federal, state, and college grants are
available if you meet the requirements.

Student loans accrue interest, sometimes while you are attending
college, and need to be paid back to the institution giving the money within a
set time frame.

Grants and scholarships abound
online when I googled scholarship for women, but I don’t pretend to know
all.I received a Phi Theta Kappa
Scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania as I prepared to graduate
from my community college.This
scholarship was based on academic standing, awards achieved, and volunteer work
performed during my community college years.In other words, now I had the proof needed for four-year colleges to
offer me money to attend their institutions.

How about you?Did you win or receive any scholarships or
grants to go to college?Please share
any information you may have to help others afford the expense of a college
education.Thank you.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The big thing to remember about
college is that prospective students can begin attending any semester; fall,
spring, or summer.

Getting accepted into college is
no easy task.College admission boards
prefer intelligent, well-rounded students.While the category percentages may vary, the boards look for good school
grades and/or a high performance on the S.A.T.’s [Scholastic Assessment Tests] as
proof of academic accomplishment.Well-rounded
students probably participated in sports and belonged to clubs in high school.Traditional prospective college students volunteer
their time at churches, hospitals, or community functions.

You know, a person who never
sleeps, has no time for family or friends.These are tough sneakers to fill for a non-traditional student, a
student over 30 years of age beginning college for the first time.

This was one reason why I started
at a community college or junior colleges as they are sometimes called.Since I was a non-traditional student, with
no S.A.T. scores, I needed to take a basic skills test, an entrance exam, to be
sure I was prepared for college level math and writing.

Okay, so I was only partially prepared
for college, passing the writing portion of the entrance exam, not the math.I didn’t have a college preparatory high
school curriculum.I was a business
student. I haven’t done algebra and
rational numbers and integers, etc., for a long, long time.I required basic skills math courses to bring
me up to college-level math in order to complete the math and science
requirements needed for a college degree.

And that is where my college
journey begins in the memoir: deciding to apply and take the entrance exam at a
community college—with five children in tow for most of it.However, even though I started at a community
college, the possibilities from there were numerous. I’ll discuss some of those possibilities together
with scholarship next month.

Monday, February 17, 2014

To continue with last month’s
blog post, why should a prospective college student attend a brick and mortar
institution?While totally online
degrees abound, I believe it is the educational community and the opportunities
the physical college setting offers that make it important for most students to
attend.

The give and take of the college
classroom, the professors and their teaching assistants, the availability of tutors
and writing centers, fellow classmates working and studying together; upper
classmen assisting underclassmen, the genuine proximity of the education being
offered.More than education is shared
on the college campus.And I’m not
talking about partying.

While younger college students
learn to become self-sufficient, older college students may struggle to
understand new material. Students come
to a particular course from different stages in their curriculums.Many times the
physical presence in a classroom can afford a camaraderie that is not present
in the online classroom.

The physical college stetting can
help students learn how to work with people from different backgrounds, discover
different methods to analyze and evaluate class projects, perhaps fill in some missing
knowledge for each other.

I brought life experience to my
college education.Even though I had
basic skills math to obtain college level math skills, there were educational
holes in my knowledge base that fellow younger students filled in for me.We worked together in numerous projects, each
bringing an understanding that another hadn’t considered.

Most physical colleges offer
opportunities to their students where they can stretch their political or artistic
wings, create a new community group or college periodical. They can learn about other cultures firsthand through
fellow students or professors. Students can
study abroad, take classrooms in the field of research, take advantage of internships,
and scholarships to continue their education.

The brick and mortar institution,
with all its components, is an asset in a student’s learning journey.Together with opportunities afforded to the student
body, attending college within a learning community fosters the sharing of
knowledge.What do you think?

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

I believe people learn something
new each day merely by interacting with others or reading something new. There are free lectures to attend at
libraries or local college campuses, how-to books to read, and online,
single-subject classes or webinars to participate in. There are also introductory online courses
such as MOOC’s to interact in. MOOC’s
are “massive open online courses” taught by professors of respectable colleges
and universities.

I’ve participated in a business
course taught by a Wharton Business School professor and modern poetry from a
Kelly Writers’ House professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Archeology at Brown University and health and
wellness at the University of California.
Almost any topic can be presented to an online audience. In addition to listening to lectures, MOOC’s
have quizzes and writing assignments to test your understanding of the material
if you wish to receive a certificate for course completion. The web environment has online support and
question and answer links. These courses
do require a lot of time and there is a time limit for completion. But I love learning new things and enjoy
lectures.

That being said, I still believe a
college degree, with its varied curricula and face-to-face interaction, matters
in today’s world. Many professions
require a degree.

Earning a college degree demands years
of a person’s life, large amounts of work and understanding, and the student,
regardless of age, grows and changes because of this learning environment. Earning a college degree demonstrates
endurance and the determination to see things to completion.

What do you think about
this? Is a college degree still
necessary in today’s world?